What can I say about writing? A lot, since I am a writer.
I think back to the first time I told my mother I wanted to
be a writer. It was an exciting time for
me, but I don’t think my mother fully understood my excitement.
I can now say… “Mama, I am a writer!”
Still not sure she will understand my excitement, but I know
she’s proud.
Writing is a form of catharsis that can lead to one freeing
themselves of past hurts, discovering new loves, fulfilling dreams, and expressing
their thoughts. It’s good to write. Writing in general accomplishes this more
than technical writing.
Technical writing is different than writing in general. Technical writing requires you to look at how
the document looks, as well as how it sounds.
Writing generally requires that you make sure it is error free, often
not focusing on the look of the document.
With technical writing, you must ask, am I using the correct colors, is
the font okay, does the layout of the page make sense, am I focusing on the
correct things in the document to get my point across?
While tech writing and writing in general are different, I think
every writer, writing in general, should think about the presentation of their
document. It is key to make sure you
present your document in a way that will present yourself as the best.
After I began taking my technical writing classes in
college, I began to pay attention to the items I was reading. Becoming a technical writer, changed how I view
all documents, whether they are general documents or technical documents. I often want to be hard on students when they
turn in assignments. I must remember
that they aren’t writers like me, and most of them don’t have a minor in
technical writing.
Writing for me is so much fun… even the technical stuff.
